What is the purpose of the stride? I have been playing around with my mechanics and I cant seem to time the pitcher with my stride. So I tried not striding and I got the same results. Is their anything wrong with not striding?
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IMO the stride is used to do two things:
1) Read the pitch that the pitcher is throwing to determine location, spin, speed.
2) Helps to bring weight back to center and allows transfer of weight into front leg as you contact the baseball.
The problem with most young players is that they stride without ever "loading" into their back leg. Meaning that the muscles in the inner thigh are never activated, so the stride is never controlled. It becomes more of a "fall" or "lean" than a timing mechanism. The other problem is that the stride is done so late, the player rushes forward and all mechanics break down.
Can you hit without striding?? You bet. It is done by many players out there. There are also pluses and minuses to not striding at all. So be aware that you need to experiment with all types of loads/strides and see what your body uses best.
1) Read the pitch that the pitcher is throwing to determine location, spin, speed.
2) Helps to bring weight back to center and allows transfer of weight into front leg as you contact the baseball.
The problem with most young players is that they stride without ever "loading" into their back leg. Meaning that the muscles in the inner thigh are never activated, so the stride is never controlled. It becomes more of a "fall" or "lean" than a timing mechanism. The other problem is that the stride is done so late, the player rushes forward and all mechanics break down.
Can you hit without striding?? You bet. It is done by many players out there. There are also pluses and minuses to not striding at all. So be aware that you need to experiment with all types of loads/strides and see what your body uses best.
JAKE
be aware that there is lots of research out there to support that there is absolutley NO RELATIONSHIP between striding and bat speed... just ask Puljos and Edmonds - and Bagwell, who actually has a reverse stride...
all it does is 1. breaks inertia (body at rest tends to stay at rest, body in motion tends to stay in motion) 2. re-etablishes balance point 3. sets up axis to which you will rotate around (or slightly behind) in actual swing.
most kids seem to just use it as a timing mechanism with the pitcher (which it is, but that is not JUST what it is).
be aware that there is lots of research out there to support that there is absolutley NO RELATIONSHIP between striding and bat speed... just ask Puljos and Edmonds - and Bagwell, who actually has a reverse stride...
all it does is 1. breaks inertia (body at rest tends to stay at rest, body in motion tends to stay in motion) 2. re-etablishes balance point 3. sets up axis to which you will rotate around (or slightly behind) in actual swing.
most kids seem to just use it as a timing mechanism with the pitcher (which it is, but that is not JUST what it is).
Some kids tend to move their head drastically during the stride. This obviously makes it a little more difficult to see and focus on the ball. The no-stride helps to eliminate this problem.
Like was said earlier though, there are great hitters using both techniques. Keep working to find which one makes you feel more comfortable and produces good results.
Like was said earlier though, there are great hitters using both techniques. Keep working to find which one makes you feel more comfortable and produces good results.
Lots of MLB hitters move their heads quite a bit during the stride too and it's ok. They know to keep their heads over their belly-buttons to maintain balance. Therefore, those who take very long strides, will by necessity move their heads more.
True Sandman... where the head goes, the body follows...
Other than rotate around the neck and nod, I've never seen the head go anywhere without the body taking it there.
The head movment is a symptom, not a cause.
Maybe you should say where the head goes the body went.
The head movment is a symptom, not a cause.
Maybe you should say where the head goes the body went.
thanks everyone. i have been playing around with it and im going with the no stride. it helps me keep my head still and its one less thing i dont have to worry about before i swing.
Jake
Jake
